Sunday, December 24, 2006

The other day I read an article by Dean Johnson at the well respected Legal News TV web site, which basically said that instead of trying to control illegal immigration, we should simply open our gates, doors, borders and everything else to anyone who wants to come here. Irwin R. Kramer, the well respected writer and editor of LNTV, was kind enough to tone down my quite angry response :-) and edit it into something better than I can ever write. :-)

As a proud, and legal immigrant to the United States, I deeply appreciate the "land of the free" and the contributions that immigrants have made to shape the beautiful society in which we live. But those who would forgive "illegal" immigration, and open the door to everyone that knocks would unwittingly thwart these accomplishments and declare open season on our own liberties.

Apologists for illegal behavior, bleeding heart liberals, and unethical politicians only interested in keeping some voting groups happy are more than eager to sell out our interests. Kevin Johnson's proposal to open up the borders would do precisely the same thing.

In proposing a scheme of "comprehensive immigration reform" on LegalNews.TV, Dean Johnson admits that his open door policy is "radical." In my humble opinion, it is similarly nonsensical.

Ignoring the threat to our nation and economy posed by illegal immigrants, Dean Johnson's radical ideas are presented as an altruistic alternative to the selfish focus on American interests which underlie efforts to secure our borders and our society. Rather than wait for others to invade the United States, the good professor would cut out the middleman by having us do the dirty work to ourselves.

Masked as a humanitarian issue, Dean Johnson's sympathies appear to lie entirely outside of U.S. borders. Unfortunately, Dean Johnson's self-described "radical" ideas are gaining ground. Taking a seemingly higher moral ground to support the benevolent rescue of illegal immigrants, Dean Johnson and others would ignore the economic devastation wrought by opening our borders to those who would take American jobs for themselves. Instead, we are told that "these poor people come across the border to do work that no one else will do," seemingly providing a benefit to our national economy.

Untrue. Businesses and society will pay fair wages to Americans who will do any honorable job if they are paid fair wages. Opening our borders to those who work below market undercuts the market for American jobs, while increasing the burden on taxpayers who must pay even more to provide social services and other support for the invaders that Dean Johnson would invite. If you don’t believe me, read a little on what is happening in California and states in that area.

By letting Mexico and other nations export their societal problems to the United States, Dean Johnson would certainly improve conditions abroad. Rather than give our neighbors any incentive to improve their economies, get a grip on crime and make the rest of the world a better place to live, Dean Johnson seems to believe that the only way to save the world is to invite them in as roommates.

Even if Dean Johnson's plan were somehow adopted into law, his open border plan to save the world is nonetheless doomed by geography. Despite his proposal to abolish the per country caps that limit immigration annually from any one nation, his kind invitation to cross the border would only help those Mexican citizens able to do so. His hospitality will do little to save billions overseas who suffer under the rule of oppressive dictatorial regimes, or billions of African men, women and children suffering from malnutrition.

Even if Dean Johnson could ship a few billion of these underprivileged lives to American soil, the great American melting pot would boil over as an overcrowded nation of three billion residents would no longer resemble the land of opportunity. As we welcome billions of tired, poor and huddled masses yearning to breathe free, we will become a tired, poor and massively overpopulated nation with little room to breathe and few resources to meet their needs. Even the late John Lennon might have trouble imagining all the people suddenly thrust into a single society as Dean Johnson opens the floodgates to an illusory brand of freedom.

When stripped of its altruistic spin, his radical ideas show disrespect for the governing potential of other nations and a total disregard for the interests of our own. While we should do all we can to help our neighbors, building up our borders may be the only effective means of ensuring that they clean up their own backyards.

Admittedly, it takes longer to build up our borders than to tear them down. And it may take even longer before Mexican President Vicente Fox and other third world leaders take true responsibility for improving the lot of their own citizens.

Dean Johnson's radical reform may help to cleanse the liberal guilt of living in the world's greatest society. His benevolence would even be laudable if not for the fact that it would eliminate the greatness of our society by selling out American interests and focusing on others alone -- establishing America as the great savior and other nations as a lost cause.

My radical ideas lack the philanthropic spin of Dean Johnson's. But, in the long run, electric fences, armed border guards, and a commitment to our own national security may be the most benevolent moves of all.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Amazing. As if it wasn't dangerous enough that the born-again fundamentalist Christian President of the United States "talks to a Higher Father" before attacking other countries, we now have his Generals confirming Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is also on speaking terms with God. Wow. If Bush says he is doing Jesus' work, is Rumsfeld the modern St. Peter? Scary. I wonder how the General knew.... It would be ironic if the NSA was listening in to Bush and Rumsfeld conversations with Jesus!

Here's the news item:

==="Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace defended Donald Rumsfeld yesterday, saying that "the good lord" tells the Secretary of Defense "what is best for our country." Meanwhile, President Bush, Sec. Rumsfeld, and other advisers face an increasingly violent and chaotic situation in Iraq. Said Richard Haass, the former chief of policy planning at the State Department, "The Iraq situation is not winnable in any real sense of the word 'winnable.""===

Yeah...? But I am sure we will have some Bush apologists start discussing "What is the meaning of winnnable?"

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Today's news items show one more nail in the coffin of Sony's once stellar reputation.

After Apple, Toshiba, Lenovo (IBM), Dell and many others announced the recall of Sony-made laptop batteries, the tragicomedy of Sony continued.

Today, Sony had the ignominy of announcing the recall of Sony batteries from their own laptops. The irony is that a company like Toshiba (that I have owned a laptop of and called TOSHItBA) is going to sue a previous quality and image leader like Sony for (drum roll) doing damage to Toshiba's image. THAT has gotta hurt!

Dell's laptop battery recall is a problem for them, but Dell is not a company I ever considered more than a telephone operator taking orders for boring widget like devices. So, as their own customer base turns away from them for low quality (which was always evident but people who paid low prices did not want to see it), and as manufacturers like HP start doing the "Cheaply Made In China" thing, Dell is finding their ugly, horrible, and often useless customer support system an additional weight around their neck as they start to drown. They can't even sue Sony for THAT.

Apple will recover money from Sony for the bad batteries, but appears to have avoided suffering any hit on their image for quality in this fiasco.

In the meantime, Sony, who created the portable music industry with the Walkman a few decades ago, is nowhere near Apple's iPod. At the same time as Apple's iPod becomes more and more popular, they are making successful forays into consumer electronics. That is an irony that will hurt Sony too.

At one time Sony had a chance to own Apple. Yet Sony foolishly continued to build PCs. Sony's then quality products like Vaio went in the marketplace just to make Microsoft stronger and stronger. Microsoft then used that wealth to enter and eat away at Sony's video games business.

But that was not enough. Sony then shot itself in the foot at EVERY stage. Walkman, Music Store, PSP, now batteries, not to mention next generation DVD. How much further can they fall?

Maybe it's time Sony made a deal with Apple. Unlike 10 years ago, when Sony could have bought Apple, I say, Steve Jobs, buy Sony, please, and save that once great brand.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

It amazes me how dumb and moronic some companies can be. Here is Wells Fargo, whose WellsFargoFinancial.com web site will not let you conduct business or even log in, much less payments unless you are using the worst or lamest or deadest browsers in the world... this is from their web site. If you are picking a credit or financial services firm, and hoping to go online from almost any computer that you may have access to, avoid Wells Fargo. From being a web pioneer, they are now brain dead in their selection of browers being forced on users... better to pick a different bank than use one of these lame browsers.

Imran

Their web site demands these great high end browsers to pay your bills online:

Thank you for your correspondence. If you need assistance with online bill pay, please contact Wells Fargo Financial Customer Service at 800-346-3009 (M-F) 8:30-5:00 CST for assistance.Please do not reply directly to this email.---

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

As if there are not enough statements by people like George W. Bush, Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, Mark Foley and even Bill Frist to leave me scratching my head, not to mention people like Nancy Pelosi and others, here's something else.

This woman Federal Judge, Marilyn Hall Patel, (who also sounds ethnically confused to me) has declared that the BLIND can SUE a company, TARGET in this case, to force them to make their web site accessible to the blind.

You HAVE to be kidding me. No pun intended, but I can't see the logic. I am fortunate to have no major disability, especially, no problems with vision, etc. And, being blind is the one thing I would beg God not to make me.

Though sometimes I have seen the abuse of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), at least it is great to know we live in a society that cares about its disabled.

Yet, forcing a business of ANY size to make their WEB SITE accessible to the blind is one of the worst abuses of law to make such a claim and the judgenot summarily throwing out this ridiculous and ludicrous lawsuit shows me how little logic or brains she has in her skull. Already, if a blind person is using a computer, they can have the TEXT of the page read out to them by existing computer technology.

That will generally also hear the computer speak the price or description of the item. On top of that, what exactly is a company supposed to do? Should it have a translation of every sound or music on its web site so a DEAF person can READ the effects? Should it change its two-click procedures to telepathy clicks for people with no hands or even carpal tunnel syndrome?

Where does this stop? What's stopping STUPID judges, evil lawyers, and exploitative people from next forcing every can of Campbell's Soup, or bottle of Pepsi Cola to also have all the labels in Braille AND having those mini-speakers talking out the contents of the package and the label description?

What about all of us, that have a sense of smell but are not served the aroma of a perfume or cologne, or baked cookies or chocolate when we go to a web site? Should we all sue ALL of the makers of the web industry for not providing a mechanism for us to SMELL something?

This lawsuit stinks, and you don't need a web-smell-generator to see that. Even a blind man can see that.

News Items show that Bill Frist, the Republican Senate Majority leader has declared that the Taliban, the people who hosted, protected and served Osama Bin Laden before, during and after his attack on America, should be brought back into power.

Apart from scratching my head - and wanting to whip out something else for him to suck on - I cannot, for the life of me, imagine how that "stays the course" or validates Preisdent George W. Bush's repeated, false and dumb, assessments that things are rosy all around. Often, things are so rosy, you could almost see the rivers turn red from the blood being spilled into them in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I wonder what are the next pronouncements from Bill Frist. Bring Saddam back into power in Iraq? Recognize Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba? Finally declare Al Gore the winner in 2000 elections?

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

I wrote a letter to the editors of Esquire magazine (a really great publication that I encourage people to read in general). It was inspired by this absolutely incredible, shocking, eye-opening, soul-shaking article written by their Tom Junod on John Walker Lindh, the American Taliban, aka Hamza.

If you have not read it, please read it here. You will be shaken by it as I was, and I encourage you to click and post a comment on their site. Here is what I wrote.

To: The Editor, EsquireFrom: Imran Anwar

Sorry. Sorry. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Huh? What? Why?

I have been reading your magazine since I was a teen growing up in Pakistan in the late 70's, reading my late uncle's magazines. Over the years, I moved to America and remain a subscriber.

Loved the articles, loved the styles, loved many things about it. But it took something specific to get me to write.

Sorry it took me so long to write in response to an incredible, brilliant, shocking, eye-opening and soul-shaking article by Tom Junod in your July 2006 issue.

I tore it out, have made several people read it and still shudder to think how this man John Walker Lindh is being treated by our government.

As a Muslim American opposed to many US policies abroad but aghast at Taliban and Bin Laden type evil killers, even I had gotten caught up in the fever asking for John Walker Lindh's head, for being with "them" and against "us".

After I read Mr. Junod's article, I wonder how many years it will be before we can apologize to Mr. Lindh for how we silently let our government treat him.

Yes, people like me, and many others, write our blogs and do our podcasts, but nothing can come close to what respected publications like yours can do, and have done, to expose what we treat this prisoner as. He is not perfect, but nothing he actually DID could justify how America treats him and will for decades.

So, sorry I did not write earlier, and sorry, I am powerless to change the ways of my government, and thank you from a Muslim, thank you from a proud American and thank you from a devoted reader for having the courage, and, yes, decency, to write and publishd that article.

I just love this comment in Newsweek's great article on Pope Benedict's anti-Islam statement (and his lame fake apology)....

Going forward, the pope could usefully consult the words of another powerful Christian leader: “And given that Islam and Christianity worship the one God, Creator of heaven and earth, there is ample room for agreement and cooperation between them,” the leader said three months after September 11. “A clash ensues only when Islam or Christianity is misconstrued or manipulated for political or ideological ends.” The leader? John Paul II.

Only more stark difference between these two men is... The late Pope had resisted the Nazis, this current Pope was (is?) one.

Monday, September 25, 2006

As I wrote previously, the Pope did not offer an honest or direct apology to Muslims, but at least his meeting with the Ambassadors of Muslim countries was a step in the right direction. Dialog, even with an intellectually dishonest man, is slightly better than fanatics on two sides throwing bombs and rockets at each other. The question is, what is the dialog going to be about? It's not the Pope raining bombs and invading Muslim countries, and it's not the Imam of Kaaba sending suicide bombers to kill innocent children.

What these two religious leaderships can do is declare that:

a) crusading invaders like evil AND stupid George W. Bush are going to Hell, b) murderous evil cunning people like Bin Laden are going to Hell, c) killing 40,000 people in a country to make Haliburton rich is EVIL, d) blowing up civilians with suicide bombs is EVI,e) arming a Zionazi tyrant Israeli government to kill people in Lebanon and practice a new holocaust on Palestinians is EVIL,f) letting Arab-backed tribes kill people in Darfur Sudan is EVILg) protecting pedophile priests is EVILh) protecting CIA torture-masters is EVILi) defending Zionazi Israelis keeping Palestinians under Occupation is EVIL

The list could go on, but this would be a good start... I wonder, what would Jesus do? What do you think?

Sunday, September 24, 2006

This is not my typical politics related comment, but something I wrote on a friend's blog related to eBvil eBay.

I really have nothing nice to say about eBay after some experiences. I bought stuff from merchants that eBay listed in one of their highlight pages. Got crap, left negative feedback for the seller (I was not the only one) but also raised the issue with eBay but they did not bother to remove the people from their favored lists. No response.

I had a perfect 100% rating. I sold an item to someone and shipped the item certified by USPS as advertised on the listing page. He paid by paypal (now a part of the eBvil Empire) AND I used their stupid system to pay for postage and print the label. Delivered the item to the post office. USPS lost the item. Buyer did NOT buy or ask for insurance.

When item did not get to him he complained that I did not ship. I sent him the USPS page showing item was in transit. I raised the issue with eBvil eBay asking, if I SHIP an item, as described, is my part of the contract/agreement done. Yes, I was emailed.

That makes sense because when I write something on MY paper, put MY stamp, use MY envelope and write your name on it, and mail it, the moment it drops in the mailbox it is YOURS. I cannot even get it back from the mailman 30 sconds later saying I made a mistake even if my picture and photo ID are printed on the envelope. The item is YOURS and hence if it is lost, it is for you to take up with the USPS.

Not so this guy. He refused to cooperate, refused to even talk on the phone to figure out where the package went. (USPS guy told me it's even possible item was dropped off without the postal worker scanning it properly).

End result. The guy goes to PayPal, complains about it and PayPal, a pathetic part of the eBvil Empire of eBay follows a SEPARATE policy from its parent and refunds the money to that guy. These PayPal bastards had charged ME for the postage and label and transcation fees but knew they can pull money from my account even though by THEIR OWN PARENT COMPANY's policy, I completed the deal. (That is racketeering in my opinion and if you have a similar experience, please post it here).

So, even after the Texas buyer gets his money back from PayPal - which extorts it out of account holder like me - while eBay told me I had completed my part of the deal, he leaves me negative feedback, which of course I was happy to reciprocate.

But the point is that eBvil eBay screws people whose accounts or money are stuck with them, by having two policies separate for eBay and Paypal. It would be like an airline selling you a refundable ticket but the parent company saying oh, our subsidiary says refunds allowed but we don't refund, sorry.

Therefore, if you insist on using eBay, then here are some ideas.

0. Avoid eBay.

1. Try to set up your own storefront. eBay in the long run is going to be like, and die like, AOL. As someone often ripped off my AOL charges in the past, you have no idea how delighted I am to see it going to AOHELL. What happened at AOL will happen at eBay. As people mature in know how, the will move to their own stores, leaving eBvil behind. It's already happening as more and more ISPs are offering storefronts, banks are offering credit card purchasing, and micropayment schemes become more prevalent.

2. If you do sell something on eBay, insist on insurance to be bought by the buyer.

3. Or add a specific line in your listings... if insurance not purcashed, buyer responsible for items lost or damaged in transit.

4. Print labels from USPS web site instead of paypal.

5. Use FedEx 3 days, MUCH better company than USPiss or even (Screw)UPS.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Microsoft just announced a revolutionary new product... yes, it took them FIVE YEARS of trying to copy Apple's iconic iPod music player to come out with... are you sitting down... a player named ZUNE. It will be available in very original colors --- Black, White and, are you sitting down again... BROWN? I guess they are trying to ensure all skin colors are represented. Though I wonder if that means a Yellow model is still to be announced? What about Red? But, I digress on the path of Survivor, the TV show.

Here's my take on Zune.

Apple knew the Zune announcement was coming... I mean, it's not like five years is not enough time even for Microsoft to copy something. So Apple announced minor tweaks to iPod, e.g. going to 80GB.

Zune's uninspiring announcement means Apple can delay further ipod announcements. Or, here's my feeling, they may make a new announcement in October, in time for Christmas shopping season. Perhaps a bigger screen, more likely a landscape layout so videos can be enjoyed bigger than the 2.5" screen they have at present.

By the way, I find it amusing that the Microsoft player has a THREE inch screen --- bigger than Apple's, but Microsoft will not be offering movies etc. on it. So, in five years, they can't even copy Apple's current level of service/product/offering.

Meantime, here's why I don't expect to be buying a Zune at all.

On the iPod, music listening is a PERSONAL experience. I see dozens of iPod users, including friends, daily, but don't stop to ask what they have on their ipod.

So, why would I buy Zune? To hope it sells millions of units and then have enough people in the market, so there are enough people I run into every day who use it? Then I have to hope I can run into someone and say "Hey can you wirelessly share some tunes with me?"

But how practical is that? How do I find out what of their, persumably, 10000 songs I don't have, need and want to exchange? Doh. So, in the long run, I see Zune being bottom of the heap, and bottom of the list... and not just because of a stupid name start with the letter Z.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

I am not one easily offended, and especially not going to allow just anybody's comments about any topic drive me to burn buildings, kill people, etc.

I have great respect for my Christian (non-crusading Bush-loving Bible-thumping, Iraq-bombing celebrating) friends, and nothing but kind words for my alma mater, and Catholic teachers like the late nun Sister Mary Frances of St. Paul's High School, Karachi, Pakistan. They serve more Pakistani people than all the mullahs combined. And, I feel sympathy for the position of anger and risk they must now face. But, let's start at the beginning.

I had found the previous controversy about cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in Danish newspapers just beginning to die down (though on average I get several new readers of my piece on the topic every day) when this "infallible" Pope (who if I recall correctly was a member of the Nazi organization!) had to stir up a hornet's nest.

These were comments by the POPE, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, more than one BILLION people.

Unlike comments against Islam or Muslims by small-time low-life bigots with big-sounding positions, like Tunku Varadarajan (who liberally uses the power given to him my the Wall Street Journal's Paul Gigot), apparently a Hindu of Indian-descent, who regularly inserts anti-Islam comments and obviously bigoted anti-Muslim comments into whatever he can manage to write (even if he is writing about the game of Cricket or that piece of work bigoted Oriana Fallaci!), or the ugly and despicable Mortimer Zuckerman, a parasite of American business who influences American media and policy to align American policies with Zionist needs, or many others like that. {On a separate note, I have personally discussed Tunku's REGULAR Islam bashing and bigotry problem with Paul Gigot via email and in person but it seems he couldn't care less how Muslims are maligned regularly on the editorial pages of the Journal. Tell me I am wrong, Paul Gigot.}

We found out some interesting things from this episode.

One, Apparently the hypocrisy exhibited by the defenders of "free speech" cartoonists (who kept quiet when a British historian was IMPRISONED for questioning or denying the so-called holocaust) has shifted South from Denmark to Rome. This Catholic Church was the one that started Crusades, spreading Christianity on the blade of the sword, spilling blood in the name of Jesus Christ, raping, pillaging, burning alive people, yet seems to be the one commenting on whether Islam (which CLEARLY states for all to READ, "there is no compulsion in religion") was forced upon people by the sword.

Two, the supposedly "infallible" Pope can make mistakes by opening his big Nazi mouth.

Three, the Pope is supposed to be some sort of special agent of God --- after all, he decides what Christians can or cannot do in their daily lives, even what they can or cannot believe. Yet, news reports show that the Pope is not supposed to be writing his own speeches but some sort of committee decides what he should say... This is the first time a major religion has a whole committee directly working with God. No wonder God had to take on three forms just to deal with the extra work. I am impressed. We Muslims only got ONE Prophet to get the message from ONE God, and even that via ONE angel (Gabriel). Damn these Catholics, they got to have God get cloned into three, have a man (Pope) have direct connection with God over the past 2000 years AND now have a whole committee that must be talking to angels or God directly. No wonder they have no time to deal with such petty matters as pedophile priests.

Four, and this is most interesting, the Pope can learn to manipulate the language better than Bill Clinton could. The Pope issued the sorriest excuse of an apology I have ever seen in recent world events. He has expressed regret at the reaction of the Muslims around the world, and that is the key. He did not apologize for what he said. He did not regret his implied or stated meaning, He regrets how people reacted to him. So, I can say Hitler was great, and did a great thing with his concentration camps, and if Jews are mad at me, I can express regret at THEIR reaction, without taking back my own words.

In any case, in my humble opinion, the Nazi Pope was dumb to have said what he said, and dumber if he believes people should or will fall for this apology. Muslims who reacted to his stupidity with attacks on churches are even more stupid.

I do not think the Pope asked Christians to bomb mosques - rotten, evil, vile, dumb, dog-bearded, chanting, repugnant, hell-deserving, so-called Muslims (in Iraq, Pakistan, etc.) do that on their own, thank you very much.

The Fuehrer Pope did not ask America to start bombing Iraq that had nothing to do with 9/11 or anything --- God's other local representative His (Ass)Holiness George W. Bush did that on his own with guidance from Zionazis like Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz, with encouragement from idiots like Pat(hetic) Robertson. So, burning churches or (if it was related) the murder of a nun is not just dumb, but evil, murder, also.

Let us leave that work to the POPE - Protector of Pedophile Evildoers.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

I had been travelling extensively the last few weeks, so I missed most of the hand-wringing, emotional, heart-tugging documentaries, news reports, Presidential "speech" and other useless activities on TV. Useless, totally useless, as far as learning any real lessons from September 11, 2001. The events of that day were politicized, being used for election-related grandstanding, yet FIVE YEARS later, Osama/Usama Bin Laden is still alive and well, active and busy, and not only showing videotapes of his meeting the 9/11 hijackers but even planning and exhorting Muslims to carry out more attacks. George Bush, Five Years, Zero Results, Greater Threats, All Around. Feel safer?

Monday, August 21, 2006

Guy Kawasaki is a well known VC, author, former Apple Fellow, Mac evangelist, and many other things. I have known him by email for a decade and had a delightful meeting with him a few weeks ago. He writes a really interesting and educational blog, for anyone wanting to succeed, to do a new business, start a new company, and his book ART OF THE START is a great way for entrepreneurs or people starting ANYTHING new to do the best job they can. (DISCLAIMER: I have the honor of being mentioned in the credits of the book, and Guy did send me a free copy then, but I also bought some later and gave to friends. You really should get a copy.)

Anyway, one of the topics that Guy wrote about in his blog was getting Trademark protection from the US Patent and Trademark Office. I had just gone through a bit of an experience on that, so I shared it with his readers. I wrote:

"Just because you did a good search and found valid examples of trademarks that should enable you to corner a particular type of phrase, the trademark office is stupidly inconsistent.

I have a file open there right now, and had them reject (or demand to change/agree to release exclusive claim to) a set of words that NO ONE else is using in their marks AND the USPTO has issued similar TYPES of phrase for others.

e.g. I wanted "Secretary On Demand", for my NETretary.com service, they refused, but ONLY cited magazine articles citing words like "outsourced help when needed", "help available on demand" etc.

Despite my insistence, the examiner who called me was unable to give an answer for why they had no problem issuing "FUEL ON DEMAND" as a trademark (and many other such examples)! Isn't EVERY gas station in the world providing fuel on demand? She could not answer that. Doh.

Inconsistency, thy name is USPTO."

A few days later, I got the expected note from the USPTO (whose examiner had been very polite and courteous when I spoke to her on the phone) telling me why they would not allow my application as is, though they gave even more generic names to other companies. That in itself was not unusual. What annoyed me was that during this time, the USPTO shamlessly sells my name and information to patent attorneys and other purveyors of services, who, for a few thousand Dollars, will probably get approval for me what I, as a law-abiding, rule-following applicant was refused.

Growing up in Pakistan I recall how government departments would have complex policies forcing people to find "middlemen" to pay to get things done. That sleazy practice is best seen at work in NY's (and I am sure other states') traffic courts (e.g. in one place you have to show up like 5 AM to get a chance to get IN just to get a chance to be heard... )

AND even before terror alerts, they did not allow cell phones OR laptops, basically ensuring that no one with precious time would want to go through the process. Not surprisingly, right outside reps of Traffic Court attorneys were handing out cards. I recall, I had actually been pulled over and ticketed ( hare Nassau county cops) for "missing a yield sign" half a mile from where the cop pulled me over.

A few days later I happened to go by the area and realized... there was NO yield sign at that spot. I had been falsely ticketed. Yet, I had to go to court with the photo to prove that. I got there at 8 AM and found 200 people ahead of me, and was told, no laptop, no cell phone and I had to stand in the sun waiting to get INSIDE and would most likely have to wait until 5 PM or so.

Frustrated, I took a lawyer's card, called him, sent him the info, and after giving my credit card number, I waited. A few weeks later, I got a letter confirming that my ticket had been thrown out... and that simple act of justice cost me nearly $300 in attorney fees, not to mention time and hassle of having one to stand in line that first day. Who knows how that $300 got divided up.. I am sure the attorneys don't give the judge $150 to do what they would have done anyway, had I stood there 10 hours waiting for my turn.

I would not be surprised if this nefarious system works with the government departments making it impossible for people to get justice or action, and grudgingly paying hundreds of Dollars to the lawyers, who probably spend some of that money wining and dining the officials, or playing Golf with them....

At least, to the credit of Pakistanis, they cut out these middlemen. You pay the "baksheesh" directly and get the work done working straight with the damned judge or bureaucrat. Saves time for everyone without enriching the lawyers, doesn't it.

What do you think? Do you have an example of how the system is designed for citizens to be forced feed a nefarious system based on backdoor dealmakers?

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Just this minute I heard the incredibly wonderful news that made me proud to be an American.

Our founding fathers, while probably worried in their graves about the grave future of our nation under Bush ("The Decider" "The UnderTaker"?), must be smiling to finally see the judciary sit up and protect the separation of powers, the freedoms our country stands for, our constitution and our rights.

A judge has declared the Bush administrations wiretapping of all of us Americans illegal, a grave setback for the ChriStalinist regime that is the administration of Holy Farter George W. Bush and his Church of ProfitOILogy.

ChriStalinist (and ChriStalinism) is a(re) new word(s) I have coined in 2006, to counter the false phrase Islamofascism being foisted on us. ChriStalinism represents people claiming to do the work of Christ and Christianity but acting like Stalin fascists, imprisoning people without trial, saying torture is OK, spying on their own civilian people illegally, punishing people who speak against the junta, invading countries, etc.

God Bless America, its Constitution, and its judiciary. One day, I hope, the Congress will wake up too, and make us the United States of America, again, instead of the CHRISTalinist State of Busherica.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

I had sworn off buying SONY products because of their shoving the unnecessary and more expensive than the popular SD cards Memory Stick in all their products. It's as if SONY never learns from their BetaMax mistakes.

I have bought several Nikons, from the great Coolpix 5700 (see some of the pics taken from the 5700 at http://imran.com ) and also the S5 and Wi-Fi S6, and love them. The picture quality, the shades of color they can capture, of sunsets and blue skies, of skin and hair, are amazing.

But I still have lots of investment in my old but great Minolta Maxxum 7000i (1991 or so) and lenses. When Konica Minolta shut down their operations and sold the camera business to SONY, I knew SONY would make decent cameras but if they had Memory Sticks and didn't do better than Nikon D70 models, I was likely to go with Nikon, or with the higher model Canon.

Then, SONY surprised me with the launch of their new Minolta based Alpha 100 DSLR at 10.2 Megapixels AND a price that will be comparable to Nikon and Canon cameras of lower resolution. (August 24, 2006 Canon has released as similar camera EOS Kiss Digital X in Japan and Rebel XTi in the United States in the 10 MP under $800 price range, but I do not believe it offers built in image stabilization).

On top of that, the camera has image stabilization built-in (as Minoltas did) so all my old Minolta Maxxum lenses benefit from IS without any additional cost to me.

And, SONY actually decided to not make Memory Sticks the required memory card for the camera... and that has got me seriously considering finally getting a SONY (other than a Sony Ericsson P900 mobile phone that I love --- though NEVER bought a single Memory Stick for above the 48MB or whatever it came with).

If you are looking at the New Nikon D80, I would stronly urge you to also take a look at the SONY DSLR before you make a decision, unless you have a Nikon investment in lenses and equipment. Check these comparisons.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

I was woken up early this morning by a call to be interviewed on a popular radio show with Patrick Shiels in Michigan, on the Big Show. He is a great guy to be on air with, because, unlike many talk-radio hosts, he does not shout, posture, or pontificate. We had a great conversation about various topics.

The primary topic I want to write on is more on the morons in the news today.

The first set of morons is the bunch of (presumably) Muslim nutjobs in England, who were planning to blow up a bunch of airliners using liquid explosives or explosives concealed in liquids. Ironically, what surprised me was the surprise law enforcement expressed at this possible mechanism, because I recall having chatted with someone in law enforcement 2 years ago about a movie script where terrorists conceal C4 or such explosives inside tampered Pepsi Cola or Coke cans.

I have another movie script in my head that involves another idea, which, in the interest of national security, I am going to share with some of my law enforcement (FBI, NYPD and SCPD) and government (State Dept.) contacts just so they are aware of what new mechanism the terrorists may use. Darn, there goes my chance of writing the next Die Hard 23 movie script. I wonder if the government will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

The second moron is Pat Robertson, who is in Israel and Occupied Palestine, telling Israelis he and HE (God) stand with them in their fight against Lebanon. I would love to have Mr. Christian Televangelist:

a) ask the Zionists if they believe in Jesus Christ as a Holy Prophet and the Virgin Mary --- as the Christian and Muslim Lebanese do, whom the Zionists are bombing and killing with America-rushed guided bombs?

b) tell the Jews that Pat Robertson sells his clientele on the second coming (of more money to him) etc. but that it requires the Jews to be "saved" and made to "believe" and other such wonderful things that the many versions of the Bible teach?

c) talk about his large real estate and tourism project that will make him millions?

Hmmmm... It's not surprising to see illiterate Muslims in poor countries believing whatever a whackjob Mullah tells them as being the word of God, but when educated Americans spend hard earned money on Pat Jerk Robertson hoping for Armageddon to happen soon, instead of trying to make the world a better place.... it just makes me say, "Doh."

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

This is just a Quick comment on the PhotoShare7, a sleek, ipod-like 7" digital picture frame I saw at Staples in Patchogue for $99.99. I was about to jump on the opportunity to buy that as a gift for my Dad's upcoming birthday and put in a 2GB SD card, so he could have constantly changing pictures of a lifetime of happiness and family life. But, I ended up holding back. Here are the questions I still do not have answers for, and you should keep in mind before you buy this item.

I just left a voicemail for the people at Photoco that make/sell them. It's cool to see iPod like design in a device but to carry it over into the sparsely worded packaging is stupid. The box for an item that is not very well understood by customers should have a little more info and useful info at that.

Their box does not even state a URL or web site for the company that makes it. It does not state if there is an upper limit on the capacity of SD-card it can take. (This can be an issue as new cards come out, these (2006) days 2GB SD cards can be had for under $50. e.g., I have a great Nikon 5700 camera for which I splurged on a 4GB MicroDrive only to find the camera only handles 1GB cards).

The box does not state the resolution of the screen, which most sites briefly mention as an issue, but there is no more concrete info. I am sure the low price must be a factor of that, because the quality of a 7" photo at 320x240 vs. 640x480 is going to be significantly different. Another thing, I noticed a similar unit at an auto-dealer the other day. I was immediately struck by the poor contrast, washed out colors and overall low quality image of that unit. It was NOT a PhotoCo frame BUT, if they were made by Far East or Chinese manufacturers from the same technology, it would be enough to hold me back.

The worst part is, I did find a web site for these people, http://photoco.com, and they seem to be in Ohio. I have nothing but a negative impression of the company itself. They have an 800-number, but no one answers. I have left 3 voicemails, and got no response. There isn't even a single more bit of information on the whole WEB SITE than there is on the sparse package text. So, I had the Staples people put back on the shelf the PhotoShare7 unit I had wanted to buy and write a more detailed review on. If the company does not even bother to respond to NEW customers asking to BUY, I wonder what quality one can expect from the product, or in customer support queries.

The idea is great - though hardly new. The design is sleek - though iPod-ripoff like. The price is great - though I can't be sure if its actual quality is worth that price. It comes with great accessories, but without having more info, I cannot recommend anyone buy it except where the convenience, gadget factor, quick and inexpensive gift nature of it is useful.

- Update: Finally, on my third call, a woman answered, who had NO idea about the product. She said she would find someone. The guy called back in a very laid back tone, as if doing me a favor. Apparently this company is a subsidiary of Samsonite, which I found an interesting and not totally unrelated strategic expansion of the travel theme. The product is said to have a resolution of 480x234 or something weird like that, which suggests my initial impression was correct, that the picture would be stretched out of proportion. The guy said it can take any available SD card (which currently are at 4GB in 2006). I asked if the pictures should be stored on the card from the Apple Macintosh MacOS or other PC at appropriate resolution or would the firmware of the frame simply load up a 5MP image and display it appropriately resized to the size of the frame, and he said that is what would happen. That's the latest as of August 15, 2006.

Monday, August 07, 2006

It just seems that our favorite famous-for-being-famous celebrity just cannot stay out of the news. First she could not keep new sex tapes from coming out. For a woman who was recently seen wearing $3 MILLION worth of jewelry, it is amazing that she did not pay her bill for a storage locker and the stuff was auctioned off. But the question is, how many sex tapes does this girl have, that she needs a huge storage locker in a warehouse! I guess her story and her video tapes will remain a timely topic for decades to come.

Yet, Paris Hilton appears more hungry for attention than an Ethiopian refugee starving for food after a decade old-famine. She recently claimed she is the "blonde icon" of our times. Now, don't get me wrong, I love blondes. But, it's bimbos I cannot stand.

So many times Ms. Hilton says or does things that make her appear to be the "bimbo icon" of our times. But, a quick analysis of her antics, and even the timing and constant timeliness of her sex-tapes release (more consistent and reliably scheduled than many Hollywood sequels!) suggests that the girl is anything but a bimbo. She is simply a businesswoman cashing everything in, all the time. She may not have Madonna's ability to "re-brand" or "re-engineer" herself, but, in terms of exploiting her station in life and the short shelf life of most celebrities, especially those created out of scandal, Paris Hilton may be forever. Here's what I think about her story.

Once upon a time - until a few years ago, life was simple. You were either born super-wealthy, or you dreamt of becoming filthy rich. Or, as Anna Nicole Smith proved, you hoped to marry a shriveling old billionaire and get all, or almost all, his money when he died. Not having anything better to do with her [ahem] considerable intellectual abilities or, probably, not finding any 10 year olds at her mental level, Anna Nicole had no choice but to put herself out on her own reality TV show.

For those who could only dream of being super rich, and did not have Anna Nicole's "assets", salvation lay in the opportunity to become a movie star. To become a movie star, especially if you were of average talent, you needed to get noticed. There were several ways to get noticed, one of the most effective ones being to get on the cover of a magazine, like Playboy, preferably without your clothes on.

Then came TV, actually, "Reality" TV, which gave average Joes and Janes a chance to make themselves more desirable to that Mister or Miss Right who might be out there, somewhere.

How eating cows' intestines or bulls' eyes or lizards' tails on live national TV makes one more desirable is something I still have not figured out. Then I saw that some of these reality TV "stars" - whose names I cannot remember - took the next logical step.

After reality TV they posed for Playboy and I am sure they are now waiting for their movie roles and eventually a chance to meet the heir to some fortune who will fall in love, or lust, with them. Then, magically, they would turn from airheads int heiresses.

At least that is they way the system used to work. But, as we all know, there is always someone who will come along and spoil a perfectly good system.

I must be the last person with high-speed Internet and computer know-how who still has not seen the now famous video clip of the multi-talented Paris Hilton.

On a side note, it did make me wonder. I mean, would it feel strange to have sex with Paris Hilton - at the Paris Hilton? Anyway, I digress.

Back to what Ms. Hilton did. With one insertion, of the video tape, Paris Hilton has shown that it is also possible to go all the way - in reverse. by starting from being an heiress, to a sex-movie star, and now, on to her own reality show. Who knows, maybe being a reality TV show star is what heiresses aspire to be - when they are not busy making sex-tapes.

So, all of you out there lining up for reality TV slots, hoping to use it to become heiresses some day - remember, it works both ways.

Well-heeled heiresses may want to be in your low-rated shows as much as you may want to be in their high-heeled shoes. To remind us of that, we'll always have Paris (Hilton)!

And that, folks, is In My Humble Opinion. This is Imran Anwar, signing off.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

I started writing my online web log (before "blogging" came around) more than a decade ago, under the trademarks of "Occasionally Obnoxious Obviously Outspoken Opinions" and short comments under "2 Cent(ence)s Worth".

One of the "big" non-events around that time was the media-forced frenzy over the comments Marlon Brando had made about how Jews controlled Hollywood.

Now news items show that Mel Gibson made some drunken comments against Jews, which he is fast backtracking on. Even a great actor, an institution and legend in his lifetime, Marlon Brando, had to fast rewind and backtrack on what he said. This is what I had written:

(Issues of media influence of pro-Israeli groups continue to this day, and since then neo-Cons, most of them Zionists likeWolfowitz, Perle, etc.Loyall to Israel more than to America, have led Americans into what will be a long term globallydisastrous policy)

As if any proof was needed, the Jewish Mafia in the USA showed its true colors and power recently. Legendary movie star Marlon Brando expressed remorse for his (truthful) opinion that Hollywood is dominated by Jews. He had said that they show every minority group in a negative light but Jews are never shown as villains. I think he had the courage to express the truth, though his choice of words like nigger and kike may not have been appropriate.

This was something I had written just two days before Brando said the same thing. If someone like Brando turned to Jello, and had to backpedal so fast, one can imagine the power that groups like JDL and ADL command over the ordinary day to day working of the media and Hollywood.

We recall when Spike Lee had to spend more time defending his movie than marketing it, a few years ago, when he was accused of anti-Semitism. His crime? The movie had showed two characters who, get a load of this, LOOKED Jewish! Imagine what it would be like if someone made movies in which the criminals were always Hasidim or other Jews, instead of Blacks as criminals, and Muslims as terrorists.

One does not have to subscribe to the politics of Pat Buchanut, I mean, Buchanan, but we have all seen him get hit by the same 'Brand-'em Anti-Semitic' Media Gestapo for criticizing US' blind support of Israel. This happened when he stated, half-jokingly, and, one could argue, quite-truthfully, that the US Congress was also "Israeli Occupied Territory!"

It seems that free speech concepts apply only if someone creates "art" with the Cross of Jesus in a jar of urine, writes a filthy novel about Prophet Mohammad, drapes a toilet bowl with the Flag, or publishes 'research' showing that Blacks are mentally inferior to others. But, apparently, saying something negative, even stating a statistical and clearly known fact, about the number and control of Jews of Hollywood is unacceptable. It is worse than blasphemy.

Marlon Brando should have known that they would first Brand him (anti-Semitic) and then "make him an offer he could not refuse." It was amusing to see the JDL say they would "make his life a living hell" yet no one read anything into this threat. I can imagine the Jew York Times....errr... the NY Times staying as quiet had it been the Iranian government saying they would make someone's life a living hell.

Marlon just realized he would have to apologize to a "higher authority" than God, the Godfathers of Hollywood and the rabid rabbis of the media industry.

--------So, as I said about Marlon.... Passion of the Gibson will meet the (double) cross(hairs) of Jollywood... and bow down.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

I am a Muslim. I posted a reply to a bunch of people who were on a mailing list that sent me a "news" item forwarded email that some Dutch Doctor had "proven" how saying Allah's name to patients cured them or some such story.

IMRAN TO MUSLIMS:

"Perhaps it is the WEAKNESS of our faith in our own FAITH of Islam that we read stories like this and somehow feel "better" about believing in Allah. The fact of the matter is that a most comprehensive study has shown that patients who were PRAYED FOR actually had WORSE results than the ones NOT prayed for. This can be looked up on the Internet.

Fact of that matter is, if I believe in Allah, it is and should be because I BELIEVE in Allah, not because someone emails us a story saying this or that urban legend makes Allah more believable. What do you think?

PLUS, if someone has contact info on this professor, I will be happy to interview him. Any info?

regards

Imran"

I shared the discussion points above on a religion (ALL religion) bashing newsgroup where someone wondered how I could believe in God by just believing... that is, when it can't be scientifically proven that there is a God.

IMRAN TO ATHEISTS:

"I am hardly a religious person to be discussing a defence of religion, but Yes, I believe in Allah/God/One "being"/power/force/entity (not a white bearded dude who had to rest after six days and needs humans to kill other humans) because I CHOOSE to BELIEVE. That is the whole point.

Not lobbing an insult, but do you know if your mother gave birth to you from your father or from any man she knew? Do you BELIEVE that or do you KNOW that because you had a DNA test done on your father and you? So, yes, today science allows you to test whether he is your father or not but for centuries of human existence atheists, while decrying others' religious BELIEFS, were probably living their whole life BELIEVING their father was their real father even when it was NOT true, nor could they prove it. The point is, everyone believes in some things, has something the put their faith in... their mother, their father, their girlfriend or wife not sleeping around.... they do it as BELIEF and FAITH, not because they have a private investigator giving them daily reports of fidelity.

So, regarding God, I believe.

I BELIEVE because it is my BELIEF and FAITH, though I cannot prove it, nor do I TRY to prove it but choose to believe it. If I had a notarized document from the FBI (can't trust CIA's slam dunk proofs!) PROVING there is a God, whose calls the NSA is moninting, it would NOT be FAITH or BELIEF, instead it would be KNOWLEDGE.

Sure, after I die my new-found post-mortem KNOWLEDGE may prove my BELIEF was misplaced and there is no God, nothing, an emptiness forever... so, fine, what did it cost me to believe? Nothing. How much of my brain CPU %age did it take? 0.00001% unless I become a priest whose every brain CPU second (when not raping little boys) is used up by religion.

If you're happy not believing in anything, that's fine by me. Anyone wanting to kill you for that can go to hell... but, you can''t really tell them that, because you don't believe in that. :-)

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

News items show that more US troops are needed not just for Iraq but for BAGHDAD, and this comes straight from George Bush and Maliki the Iraqi Prime Minister.

After nearly 5 years in one place and 3 in another the only place the "elected" governments of Afghanistan and Iraq functioned in were "green zones" of their capitals, and now even those need MORE US troops.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Imran Anwar states his position on religion and politics, and where Muslims, Jews and Christians are playing with fire. Don't miss the part about George W. Bush having visions of being a prophet of God, while Zionazis kill Christians and Muslims in Lebanon and Palestine. Even evil, corrupt, Arab dictators are being more fair and balanced than the USA government and media.

Israel and Zionazis use US funded "defense-use" aircraft to kill, using them to drop bombs on civilians in neighboring countries. American media and politicians worship the God of Israel and its lobby, selling out American interests to enhance Israeli interests. Shameful. What do you think?

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

The media has reported that the man in the White House (it is really difficult to call him President) George W. Bush and his henchmen and henchbutch Condi Rice had a high level strategy session about Iraq.

Wow. 3 years after they started the wrong war, they actually want to start planning! And Bush has an MBA? Hopefully not in Strategy - or the value of my Columbia MBA just went to Zero.

But was this meeting they had a "high level strategy session" ????

Is that what it's called when the conversation is probably something like my Top 10 list of things they discussed...

10. "Cool, we killed Zar... what's his name? Oh, ok, Zawahiri is the other evil guy with glasses, this is the evil guy with New Balance sneakers. Nyuck, nyuck. I prefer Nikes myself, much better for falling off a bike, and, and, and, they, they, they, uhhhuhhh, they twist the ankle less when I fall off the untoppleaciously stabilitized Segway."

9. "OK, OK, listen up, what do you think I drop in on the troops in EyeRack and carry in Zarqawi's head on the platter I used for the fake turkey at the Thanksgiving PR stunt?"

6. "No, sir, he died before we could torture him but we're working the corpse for intel and for some cool photos to take with him."

5. "Yes, Sir, Mr. Rumsfeld, we found a dead chicken in that house so we're ordering $100 million of bird flu vaccine from your company."

4. "No, Sir, no one will believe if we plant pictures of Hilary and Al Gore hugging Zarqawi at a Vietnam war protest, Sir."

3. "Rummy, you're doing a hell of a job - at least I can now sneak into Iraq for a quick photo op. I know I'll be greeted as the Decider Liberator... but let's make sure to fly in secretly so no one knows I am there."

2. "Is there a way we show some fake satellite photos at the UN to say Zarqawi was an Iranian nucular scientist married to that North Korean's sister?"

and

1. "Yes, Sir, the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner is ready and good to go."

News items have exposed that a company already known as the Evil Empire has started snooping and secretly picking up information from users through its Windows Advantage Program that no only installs things you don't need, but also spies on you.

You'd think Microsoft would have learnt from the disaster of SONY's similar spyware. Why do they have to access info on the valid use of their product through such evil-sounding mechanisms? Makes it sound like the Access of Evil (Empire) into people's hard disks.

I understand their need for controlling piracy, and it amazes me how double-standarded (I am the Decider who decideded that that that is a valided word) our society is.

Not that you'd EVER expect me to say anything good about Microsoft or to actually defend it but.... We complain when companies actually try to protect THEIR property from being stolen, but want companies to make their products so secure that our data is not stolen.

We complain that companies are trying to prevent fraudulent installations of their products. Yet, we leave them no choice but to use back door ways because of "outcries" if the companies just came out and said "We will not permit any more use of pirated copies."

I DETEST companies that require a CD to be inserted to run their software, and I also dislike products (like the otherwise truly awesome iSale 3 for Mac) that ONLY let me install on ONE machine instead of at least two personal machines. (e.g. someone using a 12" PowerBook may want to have a product installed on the PowerBook but want to work on a larger screen/keyboard on an iMac at home.)

But a one-time (preferably two machine) registeration that ensures only those 2 machines can use that particular copy of the software is an acceptable and fair tool that all companies should be able to use without negative public opinion.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

I read an interesting article by Charlie Cook in National Journal, on Presidential Politics. I had to comment on it, because it raises the serious concern of where we are headed in the quality of Presidential candidates... though, quite frankly, ANY man on the street would be better than George W. Bush.... the real WMD, "Worst Moron Decider™"** we have as President.

Charlie did a great analysis, and I responded along the following lines:

I came to America in 1989, and since then, it baffles and saddens me as to the constantly falling quality of people we elect or have to choose from. NOT ONE recent President has had all of these qualities: charisma, integrity, leadership, personality and vision.

We have gone from brilliant dishonest Clinton to dumb and "voice-hearing" Presidents. Hilary is hardly my vision of a President, nor is McCain stable enough for the position. It amazes me that a 2nd rate bigot, wannabe politician like Giuliani, (with associations with known CROOKS like Bernie Kerik) is considered a candidate.

I recall meeting Colin Powell back in 1996 and thinking THAT was one man I would have been proud to see as our President but he chickened out. Then came his sellout at the United Nations about Iraqi weapons, a sham full of lies. Now I would not hire him as a caddie. Who do you think would make good candidates? Let me know.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Finally we all get some good news, that the evil Zarqawi has supposedly been killed. During a recent radio commentary, when his last video had come out, I had mentioned how Bin Laden and Zarqawi were going to get caught most likely because of the increased exposure as the anti-terror squads backtrack the sources of the videos, etc. Of course, unfortunately, it is not the end of the troubles in Iraq since Zarqawi had a low profile (despite his video clip recently) and its more and more Shia-Sunni insurgents bringing Iraq to Civil War. In either case, one less evil one to worry about. I wonder if he died with his New Balance sneakers still on his feet.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

I am no expert (on anything, though I play one on TV on many topics :) ), but as much as I detest WINDOWS, I find Windows Mobile 5 to be the only platform that excited me since the Apple Newton. Palm always was and always will be brain dead to me, and now, it will soon just be dead. I have seen questions posted by people wondering how they can move information from their Mac based programs, like DayLite, StickyBrain, Text, Word, etc. to Windows Mobile 5 PDA or Smartphone devices. Here are some suggestions.

1. If you have a PC or have the ability to synch your WM5 with a PC, it should be easy enough to drag text notes from StickyBrain/Mac to Windows/ActiveSynch's folder for the device which you can carry with you on WM5.

2. I bought the Verizon 6700 phone PDA (mostly to use as a GPS/flying moving map with http://anywheremap.com ) that also has EV-DO and Skype as effective and clear on the road as on my broadband computers at home! On that device (esp. with a data plan) you can set up an email account, on Yahoo or something, that you can access from the PDA. Email text notes from StickyBrain to Mail to Yahoo/PDA and read them that way. Keep in mind, even more than simple text or formatted text as StickyBrain, this option also allows you to carry your Word/Excel document and use them on the PDA. Very cool.

3. If you do not want to splurge on the data plan (my T-Mobil unlimited data plan is just $20 a month and Verizon unlimited EV-DO plan is $45 a month) then you are still not out of luck. Most PDAs with WM5 now also have Wi-Fi. If you have an older Mac on your home network or can run a POP server on your own machine, then simply email the stuff to yourself at that server, and set up the PDA to pick up the emails from your own free (Eudora Internet Mail Server free version may still be out there somewhere) server over your own free WiFi.

4. PocketMac.Net and Mark/Space should be coming out with their WM5 Mac versions and that should give you some ability to transfer text notes to PDAs.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

This comment is different from my usual topics of world affairs, terrorism, comments on George W. Bush being the worst President EVER, etc. I recall writing a comment many years ago about the perceived or supposed "individuality" of Americans. I was always amused by how we all try to, or claim to, or try to claim to be so unique, we do everything in our own special way.

But, watch when someone like Madonna chops off her jeans at the knees, or Paris Hilton wears a particular color dress, and boom, suddenly 2 million jeans or dresses of that type are sold to "unique" individuals.

While all this was happening, I recall how EDI, a business tool for electronic data interchange between businesses, clients, organizations, etc. took forever to become established even as little as it did, even when the cost of non-standard communications between businesses was well known. Electronic data exchange costs were high, cost of aligning information into the right way for objective decisions to be made was high. There were many benefits, but EDI took time to gain acceptance.

Now, in 2006, when the Internet and eBusiness make each one of us as "connected" as the New York Times, or even as capable as madonna of putting our creative output out for billions to see (youtube.com, stickam.com, google video), more and more of us are relying on "standardized" tools.

At HP's web site (the company even as a stockholder I HATED the laptop and software products of) I found an interesting page where a small business expert shows a tool for genrating press releases. And, that made me think of the irony.

It is interesting to me that the more empowering personal expression becomes, enabling all of us to be publishers of information in our own style, the more a sense of overwhelming burden overtakes us. This is forcing us to seek out tools that automate even the process of creating our own "unique" messages, like press releases, or even business plans.

Ironically, without any of us realizing it, this may be the new wave of mass-EDI eBusiness communication, where many of us will rely on standardized "forms" for everything from press releases to business plans, to web sites and even books. Even my blog, http://imran.com/media/blog , a unique take on things around the world, is based on a standard tool, blogger.com. My web site http://imran.com and http://imran.TV utilizes pre-made templates.

More and more programs are available that come with templates. Some of that is good, because it helps us avoid reinventing the wheel. Why should I have to learn database programming and not use Filemaker's included templates? But, what about things like press releases, business plans, proposals, all of which we can buy templates for online. All these "tools" are making us more and more conformists, protrating ourselves at the temple of Templates, ironically, in the age and time when we can be most unique.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Everyone knows that I now consider George W. Bush not only to be THE worst President our country never elected, but actually a grave threat to our constitution, our values as a free society, and what may be left of our reputation around the world. Yet, few people know that at one time I had supported him for office, thinking he would bring some values, some honesty, some integrity to the White House and our government. It took Bush five years. Five years of incompetence, cronyism, stupidity, illegal actions, illegal wars, illegal detentions, illegal spying on citizens.

While Katrina blew and New Orleans burnt, Bush and his team were busy setting the world on fire. While Bush praised his cronies, their actions led to thousands of deaths, from Iraq to New Orleans. While Bush played politics with us, Americans, serious new threats to our security emerged.

Not only were we attacked on September 11, 2001, in an attack that could have been avoided had Bush and his team actually paid attention, but we are even less safe today, under this so-called security President. It is on his watch that Bin Laden continues to taunt and threaten us. It is on his watch that global warming ensures we will have more Katrina like hurricanes that we are not prepared for. It is on his watch that Iraq turned into a safe haven, a nursery, for terrorists. Iraq became the new Afghanistan, while the new Afghanistan is becoming more and more like the old Afghanistan, with Taliban growing in power, our troops attacked even today.

During this time Iran has declared its nuclear ambitions. North Korea has played us for fools, and is on the verge of becoming a grave threat to our security, if it is not already so. It is on Bush’s watch that Communism, something American fought decades to defeat, is resurgent. Not only is COMMUNIST China the country that holds a lot of our money and debt, it is communist China that continues to be a long term threat.

While Bush has praised Putin as a friend, Russia is again showing its true colors, because our administration is distracted elsewhere. Russia has become more militant, more aggressive and more like the old Soviet Union. Cuba remains Cuba, a dictatorial Communist regime in our backyard. But, instead of containing Communism, we are seeing a resurgence, a growth of socialism and communism around the globe. From parts of Europe to our own backyard, where Venezuela and Bolivia, two countries with huge natural resources and ability to influence the region, have formed what is really just a new axis of communism, with Cuba providing the third leg. This is happening in OUR backyard.

Sadly, we now have a lame duck President, whose only excuse for the disastrous policies of the last 5 years is that he will not use cowboy lingo anymore. Unfortunately, Mr. Bush, that was hardly the root cause of why we are in this mess. Sure, your saying, “Bring It On” may have given impetus to some insurgents, but it would be foolish to believe that there would not have been an insurgency in Iraq if you had not made that statement.

In fact, the insurgency, the Iraq disaster, was assured. It was guaranteed from the moment you, your Vice President, the sitting Vice President whose former company continues to get NO-BID contracts to build whatever you and your Vice President first decide to destroy in Iraq, decided to attack Iraq. You chose to use America’s faith in its leaders, it faith in you, its need for revenge for September 11, its need to know it could once again be safe, to not solve the problem, the fanatics of AlQaeda, Bin Laden and his team – you instead gave them the best gift ever, a whole nation of oil-rich, ethnically divided, centrally located, Iraq, as a place to set the world on fire – while you poured oil on it.

We have lost almost 2500 more Americans in Iraq, hundreds more in Afghanistan, hundreds more who have committed suicide, and 25000 injured troops whose lives will never be the same.

But, sadly, on this Memorial Day, most of our nation is worried about whom to vote for in the next American Idol, and if the barbeque is at the right temperature. Others are more worried about demanding a personal monument to loved ones who died in the World Trade Center, but, what makes this Memorial Day less than memorable is that our troops, willingly dying, giving their lives for our nation, in Iraq and Afghanistan, do not even get the honor of being saluted and welcomed back when they arrive one final time, in a flag draped coffin to be laid to rest.

I dedicate this day to the memory of all those who fought for this great nation, and gave their lives, and those who are doing so to this day. I say God Bless You for serving your nation in the heat of Iraq while your country men cook burgers in their backyards, and your President and Vice President do everything they can to make Haliburton and Exxon-Mobil rich. Please take care of yourselves, because, God knows, if you die, not only will your family get less money than the Exxon CEO made in ONE DAY, we will fly your body back in cover of darkness… some day we may give you a memorial. Until then, stay safe, this Memorial Day.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

In a previous edition you have heard me complain loud and clear about the threat we face, as a nation, as a society and as an economy, from the invasion, of illegal immigrants. Apologists for illegal behavior, bleeding heart liberals, and unethical politicians only interested in keeping some voting groups happy are more than eager to sell out our interests.

Not that George W. Bush or his administration have done anything to stop the flow of good jobs out of the country legally or the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. The loser mentality he displayed by saying 11 million is too large a number to deport was just another way of hanging Welcome signs in Spanish for the next 11 million to crawl across the border.

Much that I disagree with the right wing social conservatives on how they try to shove religion into our government, I do have to say Thank You to them for putting pressure on Bush and others to do something about big government and illegal immigration. According to a story in the New York Times, they have even threatened to withhold support from Republicans this midterm election, which may be the best thing that could happen to our country. It would force a little bit of national accountability on our elected leaders and help bring about some balance into our government.

It seems that, George Bush, is going to do the minimum he can do to make it look like he is doing something about it, and that is what he will be discussing in a speech this evening. Apparently he is going to suggest using the National Guard to try to stem the flood, the invasion, that is going on through our border with Mexico.

In my humble opinion, even that is a small, minimum step and not enough. Yet, already, people are speaking out to oppose the plan. And they are not saying that it is not enough but are finding excuses that even this little pathetic step is not taken to defend our borders or stop this INVASION of our nation. That is SHAMEFUL.

Some are making the excuse that the national guard is stretched thin. That is such a lame excuse NOT to use what we have. YES, the National Guard is stretched thin because of our STUPID decision to invade Iraq, that did NOT attack us, while we are being invaded by a silent enemy from the South. So, yes, let’s bring the national guard back from Iraq but let us not hesitate to use them to protect our borders.

Others are saying we need more border patrols. Yes. Let’s spend the money we gave away in tax cuts to the rich on hiring more border agents and at least try to look like we care about having a border that no one else gives a damn about.

Some others are making it a humanitarian issue. Oh, these poor people come across the border to work that no one else will do. What baloney. Businesses and society will pay fair wages to Americans who will do any honorable job IF they are paid fair wages. The INVASION of illegal immigrants who come in and do work below market wages not only causes the middle class American worker to find no paying jobs, but any taxes he, you and I pay, are then spent financing the social services that these illegal non-tax-paying invaders suck up. If you don’t believe me, read a little on what is happening in California and states in that area.

Then we have George Bush’s good friend, Mr. Fox, the President of Mexico. Instead of having some shame that his country is so pathetic, so screwed up, so lousy to live in that MILLIONS would rather risk dying in a desert to come to America to clean toilets, he is telling US he does not like the idea of us patrolling our border with him. Shame on you Mr. Fox. Get YOUR house in order, get a grip on crime, get a grip on lawlessness, do something about your unemployment and your economy. Stop this invasion of our nation and stop complaining when even our incompetent President SEEMS like he is going to do something before his 29% approval rating drops to ZERO.

I would much rather have our soldiers back from our illegal war in Iraq, and have more of them hunting Bin Laden and even more of them protecting our homeland from this insidious invasion that has already started taking a toll on us. I would put electric fences and armed guards on our borders. Shoot first, ask questions later. If you want to come to our great nation, get in line, follow the rules.

We have already seen gang members, drug sellers and criminals come in jumping over fences and literally driving through tunnels. What’s stopping Bin Laden from using these same gangs and routes? So, come legally or get shot trying because we do not have the patience, the time or the opportunity to let even ONE AlQaeda agent slip in through Mexico. But, our politicians would rather make speeches about protecting us but not do anything to close our borders and stop this invasion.

My solution would be a little extreme but you know, this is just In My Humble Opinion.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Here's a change of subject in all these articles about war, terrorism, killing and violence, especially in the name of religion.

I was made to switch gears from two unrelated items today. One was an email exchange with a librarian friend of mine, Gail, commenting on "relationships" and marriage - and another was my visit to a business contact's blog and seeing a short note from him on "mixed marriages", actually inter-faith marriages. So, I had to sit and look back on my life and see how blessed I have been.

I have had a truly incredible life in the truly one in a billoin people I have loved and been loved by, love that impacts you the core of your being. And, I remembered that a few months ago the same lady friend Gail had actually emailed me something I wrote literally 13 YEARS ago on this topic.

So, while Muslims kill Muslims based on Shia-Sunni, Catholics and Protestants kill each other in the name of Jesus, Zionist Jews keep married Arab Palestinians from being with their spouses, crusaders attack others for oil, here's a salute to those who make inter-faith relationships and marriages work better than marriages made in heaven, while the whole world goes to hell with war, murder, tyranny, and bigotry. God Bless You all!

--Newsgroups: soc.culture.pakistan,soc.culture.indian,soc.religion.islamSubject: Marrying People from Other Religions: Do What is Best for You

I hate following a debate where EVERY single poster simply includes the whole of the original posting to add two lines of commentary. So excuse this start of a new thread here.

I have seen several posts in response to the original one about marrying people of different religions. Someone called the poster a net.mullah (an apt analogy in my humble opinion), and stated that he did not agree with the poster's comments. Fine.

Then someone called this second person a net.liberal wanting people to give up their "morals" or some such stuff. I would like to defend the "net.liberal" here. (Sorry I do not have names as I junked all the articles after reading them)

Th "net.liberal" simply expressed an opinion about disagreeing with a SINGLE individual's posting.

The "net.mullah" did a lot more. He issued a DECREE, telling people what is RIGHT and what is WRONG (because he thinks so), and he DECIDED what Islam SHOULD mean regardless of what the Quran says, he passed JUDGEMENT on people who decide to marry Western/Christian/Jewish girls, he ASSUMED that CHASTITY and BEING A GOOD HUMAN are based on one's actions without regard for what a person's SOCIAL surroundings (environment) are, he SELF-RIGHTEOUSLY assumed that one's own society is PERFECT (and chaste), and he HURT the feelings of those who are already married to a Western person whether they had converted or not. I do not think that the guy has anything to do with Islam and Muslims.

The funny thing is that he mentioned knowing Western girls for eight years. Perhaps the posting was either the result of "sour grapes" in that he never got what he wanted from the "unchaste" Western girls, or maybe he did get SOMETHING out of it but was "dumped".

I just know one thing, every person has to decide for himself or herself what they want in life. This includes knowing how to balance their faith in Islam (or whatever religion they profess) and how to adapt to the differences that exist. There are always differences between people, and any kind of coming together of two people means compromise, adaptation, and flexibility. It does not necessarily mean giving up on particular thing, or faith or belief.

Obviously the number of differences, potential conflict points, and issues needing decision/compromise will be much higher between two people from different countries, different religions, different races, and different cultures. The fact that some people are willing to try it, and give it their best shot, and to face all odds, is something to be respected. They have taken a leap (of faith!) in hoping that two HUMAN beings who share a goal to live happily and make the world a better place to live in for their children, themselves, and for others. I would respect them more for trying to make it work, than some self declared expert who will simply pass judgments and use religion as a tool to prevent the people of the world from leading happier and fullfiling lives.

To those of you out there, who are already married, are marrying soon, or hope to get married sometime in the future, I have this to say.

If you know what is important for you, and decided to stay with the "sure thing" of marrying someone with exactly the same background as you, I respect that, and I admire you for knowing yourself, and deciding what you think works best for you today, and ten years from now.

To those who married people from a different culture or nation, but one of you converted, I respect and admire you both, for being open to new ideas, and for making a sacrifice (probably a little bigger sacrifice for one person) and for adapting, to make it possible to have two people of different backgrounds to make things work with sharing, adapting, and compromise.

And those, who decide that they will marry someone from a totally different culture, nation, religion, and race, I have respect you, admire you, and honour you for being two great **human beings**, open to the idea of a "whole new world" and "a fantastic point of view", for having the courage and the conviction that two HUMAN beings can make this world a better place, for their children, for themselves, and for all humankind, simply by taking the alternate route, the big leap, and the giant step. I, and thousands of others, love and respect you, and wish you the best, for you are the ones who will open the frontiers of a new world based on love and understanding, peace and sharing, learning and giving, and above all, in the *faith* that that is what the Creator (by whatever name you call the Supreme Being) wanted from the human race.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. May Love and Happiness be yours, always,